GOP confirms another monster as America’s newest ambassador

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans confirmed former NFL player Herschel Walker as the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, ignoring his history of lying, weird statements, and multiple accusations of domestic abuse.

The confirmation vote succeeded on a party line basis, with a group of nominations, including Walker’s, receiving 51 votes in favor and 47 opposed. No Democrats supported Walker. 

He’s the first ambassador to the Bahamas in 15 years due to a series of stalled nominations in the Senate across multiple presidential administrations, rather than any diplomatic issue with the Bahamas itself.

No sugar-coating it: Daily Kos needs your help. Can you chip in $5 today?

Walker’s appointment comes three years after he lost the U.S. Senate race in Georgia to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022. Walker was President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate for the race, which attracted national attention.

Walker’s candidacy was a disaster, with his claims generating headlines for days on end. In one memorable exchange on the trail, Walker rambled on about being a supernatural being.

“I don’t know if you know, but vampires are some cool people, are they not? But let me tell you something that I found out: a werewolf can kill a vampire. Did you know that? I never knew that. So, I don’t want to be a vampire anymore. I want to be a werewolf,” he said.

At another point in the campaign, Walker pulled out a purported law enforcement badge while debating Warnock. But the badge turned out to be an honorary badge given to him by a local sheriff’s office.

Walker also claimed during the race that he worked in law enforcement as an “agent,” and that he spent time at the FBI training academy as part of that experience, but this was a complete lie.

It was also revealed during that cycle that Walker was a promoter of pro-Trump election conspiracy theories. Walker pushed falsehoods alleging that “serious election fraud” had occurred and that former President Joe Biden had not legitimately defeated Trump in 2020.

Walker has been accused of multiple instances of domestic abuse.

Cheryl Parsa said she was Walker’s girlfriend for five years and during that time he abused her. She said that in a 2005 argument, Walker grabbed her by her throat, held her against a wall, and tried to punch her but punched the wall instead.

“He told me, you want to see a man, I'll show you a man,” Parsa told NBC News.

No billionaire backers, no paywalls. Daily Kos news exists because of YOU, our donor community. Now, we need your help. Please donate today.

Walker’s ex-wife Cindy Grossman similarly accused him of abuse. In her 2001 divorce petition Grossman cited Walker’s “physically abusive and extremely threatening behavior.” She also revealed in a 2005 interview that in one incident Walker held a gun to her head and said, “I’m going to blow your f’ing brains out.”

Grossman’s sister also said that Walker threatened to “shoot my sister Cindy and her boyfriend in the head.”

Trump is a misogynist who has for years expressed delight at mistreating and manhandling women. Walker is a figure who he has been friends with for years and Trump clearly has no problem with his lying, off-the wall rhetoric, and most seriously, the allegations of abuse.

Senate Republicans, Trump’s close allies, just made a man like Walker an official representative of America to the world.

Click here to check out this story on DailyKos.com.

We're not asking for much

The average donation to Daily Kos has been just $9.44. These donations may seem small, but they're a big deal to us. In fact, they are our largest source of income. We literally couldn't do the work we do without them. Can you join thousands of other Daily Kos readers and help us with a donation of $9.44 right now?